There’s more that separates these two 6.1-inch iPhones than an extra camera.
On Tuesday at its Wonderlust event, Apple unveiled the latest batch of iPhones alongside updates to the Apple Watch. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro are here, and you may soon be facing a decision whether to shell out the extra money for a Pro model.
On last year’s models, the new Dynamic Island was one differentiator between the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, but this feature has now trickled down to the regular iPhone 15, leaving the entire iPhone 15 line notchless. Still, there are important differences to consider when deciding between the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro. Let’s get to it.
More from the Apple event
iPhone 15, Apple Watch 9 and Everything Apple Announced
iPhone 15 Pro Hands-On: Titanium Frame, 5x Zoom Camera
Apple Watch Series 9 First Look: Double Tap, Faster Performance
iPhone 15 vs. 15 Pro: Display and enclosure
Both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro feature the same size screen — a 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with a 2,556×1,179-pixel resolution. The Pro’s display, however, features ProMotion technology, which is Apple’s way of saying it has a variable refresh rate between 10Hz and 120Hz. It should result in smoother motion in videos, games and just scrolling through web pages compared with the fixed 60Hz refresh rate of the iPhone 15. When you aren’t watching YouTube or gaming on your phone, the Pro will lower the refresh rate to conserve battery life.
The iPhone 15 Pro also has an always-on display that keeps it on and dimmed when charging so you can use StandBy mode. You don’t get an always-on display with the iPhone 15.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are made from different materials. The iPhone 15 has an aluminium enclosure with a colour-infused glass back, and the iPhone 15 Pro is made from titanium with a textured matte glass back.
More colourful options are available for the iPhone 15, where you can get in pink, soft yellow, light green, pale blue or black. The iPhone 15 Pro is available in more staid hues: black, white, dark blue and natural titanium that looks beige.
In terms of overall size, the iPhone 15 is ever-so-slightly larger but lighter than the iPhone 15 Pro. Titanium is lighter than aluminium, but the iPhone 15 Pro weighs more than the iPhone 15, in large part because it has a third camera. The iPhone 15 weighs 6.02 ounces (171 grams), and the iPhone 15 Pro weighs 6.6 ounces (187 grams). The iPhone 15 Pro has ultrathin bezels and shaves a millimetre off the width and height of the iPhone 15’s dimensions while also being a fraction of a millimetre thinner.
One last difference between the two enclosures is the introduction of the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro. It replaces the mute switch that’s still on the side of the iPhone 15. By default, a long press on the Action button will mute and unmute, but you can customize it to trigger a number of shortcuts like turning on the flashlight, recording a voice memo or opening the camera app and snapping a photo.
iPhone 15 vs. 15 Pro: Cameras
As with previous iPhone lines, the iPhone 15 features two cameras on the back, and the iPhone 15 Pro has three. You get a 48-megapixel wide lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens with either model, and the iPhone 15 Pro adds a 12-megapixel telephoto lens that has a 3x optical zoom that lets you get closer to your subject.
Both models support night mode, but only the iPhone 15 Pro lets you take night mode shots in portrait mode.
iPhone 15 vs. 15 Pro: Components
Inside, the iPhone 15 has an A16 Bionic chip, while the iPhone 15 Pro has an A17 Pro chip. Both models ought to be plenty fast; each processor is a six-core CPU with two performance and four efficiency cores. The iPhone 15 Pro is better suited for graphics and gaming; the A17 Pro Bionic processor has a six-core GPU to the A16 Bionic’s five-core GPU.
Both models are available in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB capacities, and the iPhone 15 Pro offers a 1TB option.
iPhone 15 vs. 15 Pro: USB-C speeds
The new models introduce USB-C charging, but only the iPhone 15 Pro supports the faster 10Gbps speeds of USB 3. You’ll need to supply your own USB-C 3 cable for a 15 Pro since Apple ships a USB 2 cable with both phones, but the iPhone 15 supports only USB 2 speeds of 480Mbps.
Source: www.cnet.com/tech/mobile
